Health Ministry to direct $100M to cancer medicines

Feb 08, 2011 News

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The procurement of cancer medicines is expected to attract $100M this year, representing a massive endowment towards the fight against cancer which has for the past 10 years received nothing from the Ministry of Health’s budgetary allocation.
This move, according to Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy “is a Herculean effort…going towards cancer medicines this year, from $0 to $100M in 10 years. This is the Ministry of Health spending about five percent of its medicine budget on cancer medicine alone. Imagine that for one disease we are spending this; it is an enormous investment.”
But according to the Minister, although a substantial sum will be directed to cancer this year, it will still not be enough to address the challenges that are created by the disease. He said that the $3B that has been allocated for the procurement of medicines this year will not even be sufficient to satisfy the medicinal needs of all patients suffering from various conditions.
“…That is why I announced in Parliament that while patients will get their medicines, I cannot guarantee that all of the people will get all of their medicines all the time. I have always been frank with the Guyanese people because for us to do that we will need between $6B and $10B on an annual basis,” said Minister Ramsammy.
And according to him, “Right now I have $3B and with our grants I have another $1B. So we are at a maximum of $4B and even with this amount per year we cannot provide all of the medicines.
“Even the United States of America cannot provide all of the medicines that are required… Why do people think we could? It is the reality that we must face.”
But despite the fact that the fight against cancer has over the past decade not been duly endowed, Minister Ramsammy said that the Ministry of Health was able to make significant strides last year in addressing the impact of cervical cancer.
He said that last year more than 10,000 women, drawn from all 10 administrative regions, were able to access VIA screening (Visual Inspection using acetic Acid) and approximately 10 percent were identified with either cancerous legions or pre-cancerous cells.
He noted that although those women were detected with such conditions they were in a position to be cured and many were indeed cured, he added. “These were all women that were going to show up at our clinics with cancer and would have died shortly after, had we not have a VIA programme.
“It is indeed a life-saving procedure and it would be unfortunate if a woman of reproductive age does not take advantage of a programme like that.”
And in the quest to ensure that measures are sustained to prevent cervical cancer, the Minister said that in a few weeks time all girls 11 to 13 years old will be provided with the HPV vaccine.
This move, the Minister said, will ensure that at least 85 percent of the young girls of this generation will be prevented from contracting cervical cancer.
“Guyana would have placed that generation of women in a position where cervical cancer will no longer be a public health problem in our country. To move from where it is, a death sentence, to now holding a promise for young girls that cervical cancer will never be a part of their lives, is an astounding success story for any country.”
But for those who are not able to access the HPV vaccines, there will be sustained HPV testing to ensure that they do not become vulnerable to cervical cancer, the Minister said. He added that the Ministry of Health has started offering screening tests for breast cancer, which entail breast self examination, examination by professionals and mammography.
Screening tests are also available for colon and rectal cancer, the Minister added. “A simple stool test can provide important information for us and that test is provided at all private hospitals and in the public hospitals…
“It is free in the public hospital and at a minimal cost at a private hospital. There are also more sophisticated tests that can pick up the various cancers…” Minister Ramsammy added.
But according to him, another intervention that is necessary in the fight against cancer is that of radiotherapy. Radiotherapy, he said, has become an integral part of the treatment of cancer in the world but has been absent in many developing countries.
Up to a few years ago, he admitted that it was absent from Guyana, revealing that patients were forced to seek this service in Trinidad and Barbados at exorbitant costs. Even those who were perceived as wealthy were not able to afford radiotherapy in countries such as Canada and America, the Minister said.
However, the public health sector has responded to this need and today offers high quality radiotherapy, according to Minister Ramsammy.  The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has since reviewed the radiotherapy service in Guyana and has offered commendations but has nonetheless cited a need for improvement.
Measures have been engaged, Minister Ramsammy said, to adhere to the PAHO recommendations. “I am working with the Cancer Institute of Guyana so that these recommendations can be put in place,” the Minister disclosed.
Approximately 400 people were treated last year at the local Cancer Institute and their conditions have been improved through the three pillars of treatment – surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, according to the Minister.

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